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Urgent care facilities make healthcare more accessible, experts say

05.13.2011

With no end in sight to rising healthcare costs, experts are increasingly saying that urgent care facilities can fill gaps in care for individuals who cannot afford high payments to primary care physicians or hospital emergency rooms.

Lou Ellen Hurwitz, executive director of the Urgent Care Association of America, told California Healthline that these providers are capable of delivering care that is comparable in terms of quality to primary care physicians and that is generally less expensive than services offered by emergency rooms.

She added that, outside of life-threatening conditions, urgent care providers are capable of handling a wide range of injuries and illnesses.

Combined with the fact that many urgent care facilities offer these types of services on a flexible schedule, these factors have made the model of care a popular option. Many patients with non-life-threatening injuries now go to these providers for quick, affordable services.

The industry continues to grow. The Urgent Care Association estimates that more than 300 new facilities were established in 2010, bringing the national number close to 9,000.
 

Categories: Injury & Illness 

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